Geraldine Johns
Food - Bespoke dining
Service - Faultless not fawning
Wine - Inspired, extensive
Ambience - Fine and comfortable
Bathrooms - Tidy
Should there be such a thing as a next life, I wish to come back as a panna cotta. It will be the one occasion when one can wobble with impunity and be all the more adored for it.
I will assume the version prescribed by Michael Meredith and crew at The Grove, which means I will have tapioca on my head and prunes and almond croutons at my quivering side. The world will be a better place.
This is the sort of commitment and dish detail they get down to here on St Patrick's Square. The Grove has been open just over a year and there's a new menu out: good enough reason to visit, especially as it scored big by me back in its early days.
A lot can be read into the dining prequel. The lexicon of welcome speaks volumes. When you ring and book (pseudonym, of course) they say "and what time would you like to dine with us?" rather than peremptorily requesting name, time and number. So the warmth of welcome has been exuded even before we arrive. It continues for three of the happiest hours that I have enjoyed since I started this lark for a living.
Grove owners Michael and Annette Dearth have Michael Meredith (ex-Vinnies) in the Kitchen while they operate front of house. Space precludes individual mention of each and every team player, but all deserve credit for the contribution they make to a dining-out package that is wall-to-wall elegant.
This is the sort of place where you can feel comfortable ordering stuff you would ordinarily shy away from, just to see chef Meredith's take on it. By this I mean he can make cauliflower soup into a dizzily unctuous revelation.
The Duke will take the vegetarian tasting platter ($80) tonight, meaning he will sing his way through some seven courses, each of which, like the staff members, deserves individual praise. It's best to describe it as a symphony performance that hits no dud notes.
I start with caramelised tuna and curried eggplant ($19). It offers some crunch with some smooth and points me perfectly towards my main: roasted poussin with ginger and soy bouillon ($33), which shouts Meredith's cleverness.
Rather than describe the flavours - which would never do them justice - let me say that to dine at The Grove is to feel like there is one person in the kitchen who is solely responsible for hand-crafting every last component of your dish. Then they will find just the right wine to go with it and serve it in a size that suits (from tasting glass to half carafe or more). It's a place for grown-ups and it's a place for dressing up.
This evening's performance reaches a crescendo with dessert: a well-established high point. Tonight I get a cherry compote with valrhona cannelloni and raspberry sorbet ($14), he the panna cota.
We both declare ourselves the winner and decide lightning does strike twice in the same place. Terrific last time; fabulous tonight. We will retire here. The Grove is a place of rich rewards; it deserves an equal degree of praise.
